News Bytes: NBN scam, ANU, Vodafone, Huawei

News you may have missed.

Phone and internet scammers have a new hook. NBN issued a warning this week that scammers are making calls to individuals pretending to be representatives of the company and asking for personal details and financial information. According to NBN, since it is a wholesale provider it does not make any unsolicited calls or house visits to sell broadband services. Anyone who receives such a call should hang up.

Australian National University gets hacked

Chinese hackers have reportedly breached the cyber defences of ANU, though what they did once they got in remains an open question. According to a Fairfax Media report, ANU has spent “months” working to contain the breach. ANU said that it doesn’t have evidence of any sensitive data being stolen, though a report from 9News revealed the hackers gained administrative access to the system which means that data may have been stolen without detection. ANU works on a number of sensitive research projects, including Defence projects.

Vodafone lets you ditch the landline but keep the number

Vodafone NBN customers now have the option to keep their landline number thanks to Vodafone’s new Mobile Landline service. The $5 a month service lets NBN users redirect a landline phone number to a mobile handset (which also has to be on Vodafone), so they can ditch the landline service altogether while still receiving calls on the old number.

Huawei wins WA Transport Contract

Huawei has secured a $136 million tender to deliver Perth a new digital radio system across the rail network. The deal will be a joint venture with construction engineering company UGL, and will create an end-to-end digital radio solution across voice and data services. It is anticipated Huawei and UGL will maintain the system for the next 10 years. Huawei Australia chairman said about the deal, “Huawei is extending its trusted portfolio of solutions towards industry and strengthening its customer base in mission critical market segments.” The decision comes just weeks after it was revealed Huawei would be left out of the government's 5G network plans due to concerns over the company's ties with the Chinese government.